Staging your House

Staging a house for sale seems like an easy enough task. The idea is to make any one visiting the house able to visualize living and functioning in the space. Since you have already done this (probably for quite some time) then how to live in your home may seem like second nature. These are some steps to help you frame the house for the ideal buyer and sell your home quickly.

Clean out your junk

Before you begin the process of decorating the house, it is important to strip it of its identity as “your home.” You no longer plan on living here so it is important to begin the disassociation process. Removing all extra furniture, old television sets, accumulated trash and any other junk from the property is the first step. This stuff should not move with you into the new house anyway so get rid of it now. Prospective buyers want to see a well-maintained home and clutter sends the wrong signals.

Minimize your presence

An ideal house looks like a model home. There are no indications of the current owner. In order to make the house as easy as possible for visitors to see themselves living in it, the more minimal you leave it the better. The things that are left out should show off the functional design of the house and ideally stick to a common theme. Removing pictures that you are in, things hanging from the fridge, and other various knick-knacks will give your buyer more to imagine and become more engaged in discussions about decorative opportunities. Take every available opportunity to minimize each area of your house and it will pay dividends.

Consider Curb Appeal

Anyone with a house for sale is very aware of the importance of first impressions. Many of these are thought about but not to the detail required to be truly impressive. When the house is going up for sale, hire a landscaper. The national average time for a house to be on the market is about 3 months, so keep the yard perfect for those 3 months. The better kept the yard is the less work the new owner will feel like they are stepping into by purchasing the house which is ideal.

Interior facelift

One thing that many homeowners overlook (until their house is for sale) is the state of the paint on the walls. High traffic areas, such as hallways and the kitchen get damaged the most seriously and are in need of the most work. If kids or dogs are present in your home and the rooms have been painted, now is a good time to hire a painter to repaint all the interior walls. Go with neutral, soft colors that are easily changed if necessary. You may end up shocked by how new the house looks by just adding paint!